


Five Firsts

by midnight_echoes



Series: Catradora Week 2018 [2]
Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Domestic Fluff, Emotional Manipulation, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, F/F, First Kiss, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Light Angst, Mind Control, Mind Manipulation, Past Abuse, Physical Abuse, Romantic Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-06
Updated: 2019-01-06
Packaged: 2019-10-05 14:33:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,492
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17326808
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/midnight_echoes/pseuds/midnight_echoes
Summary: Even after Catra has dealt with Shadow Weaver, she's still finding ways to hurt her former pupil. Now, much to Catra's chagrin, she needs Adora's help to piece together a past that she didn't even know she lost.





	Five Firsts

**Author's Note:**

> Catradora Week 2018 - Day 4 Soulmates
> 
> I know I'm way behind on these but I'm going to still try to get them all done. 
> 
> Also, if you're wondering why there's only day 1 and day 4 prompts here, it's because a for a lot of the prompts I did drawings instead of writing. You can check them out at my Tumblr: <http://midnightechoes.tumblr.com/tagged/catradoraweek2018>

Catra wouldn’t mind being done with First Ones temples. Nothing good ever came out of visiting them. This one was no different. At least it had been useful. Catra’s mind wandered back down the path that led her to her current situation of hiding high up in the rafters of the main hall, waiting for Adora to show, who was apparently taking her sweet old time. The waiting was excruciating.

It had started two weeks back. Catra and Scorpia had been visiting the kingdom of Midnight Sands, far to the north, along the edge of Horde controlled territory. They were looking for recruits and potential allies, something that the Horde suddenly had to do now that Second-In-Command Catra had put an end to the practices of enslavement and baby stealing. She thought she had found someone with potential. A magician, shunned the by kingdom of Mystacor and subsequently bitter with the Princess Alliance that Mystacor aligned itself with. The magician would need to prove himself though. He chose to do so with what he said was a mind reading spell. He asked Catra to think of a specific word, and he would use the spell to find out what the word was. Catra was skeptical, but the magician assured her that it’d be quick and simple.

It turned out to be anything but simple. The spell caused a reaction in Catra, a flash of an event that she had supposedly been present for, but an event Catra had no recollection of ever experiencing. It was disorienting. It made Catra light headed to the point where she almost passed out. She would have collapsed onto the ground if it wasn’t for Scorpia, who caught her mid-fall. After a few moments Catra regained herself. Her first instinct was to slash that bewildered smirk off of the magician’s face, but she fought that urge. After some arguing, and threatening, and pleading on the magician’s part they finally figured out what had happened.

Stolen memories.

The magician was able to confirm his theory that what Catra had saw was in fact a fragment of a memory that had been erased from her mind. On Catra’s back, running along her spine in a haphazard line between her shoulder blades was a series of seven marks. At first glance they easily could have been simple birthmarks. But on further inspection what they were were tiny little jagged spirals. Apparently each one represented a memory that had been stolen from Catra.

Even after all this time, after she was dealt with and gone, Shadow Weaver was still finding ways to hurt her former pupil.

Catra had tried to forget about it. A day passed, then two. There was no forgetting about it. So she put Entrapta to work on finding something that might let her regain her memories. It only took Entrapta three days to find a solution. Unfortunately, the solution wasn’t ideal. There was word of a First Ones temple in the rocky cliffs of the eastern part of the Midnight Sands kingdom. That part of the kingdom was firmly in rebel alliance territory. Catra had to know though.So her, Entrapta, and Scorpia set out to find the temple.

Getting to it wasn’t so bad. It was the getting in that was the problem. It took Entrapta hours to get them in and get them safely to the center of the temple where a holographic AI named Thread Spinner greeted them. Catra got what she wanted though. Thread Spinner was able to dive into her mind and fish out memories long sealed away by Shadow Weaver. She was shown three in total, each featuring their own revelations. Thread Spinner said that the rest of her memories were fragments that involved other people. The other person would be required to complete the memories. Catra’s mind was reeling. She was having trouble coming to grips with the memories that had been returned to her. Yet, she wanted to know the rest. NEEDED to know the rest. She had a pretty good idea where to start.

Adora.

If these were childhood memories that required others to complete, there was a good bet that Adora was necessary for at least a couple of them. Probably most of them. On top of that, Adora had been present in one of the memories that Catra DID have returned to her. It was an odd memory that Catra didn’t want to deal with, but at the same time, she knew that if Adora had remembered this memory Catra would have NEVER heard the end of it. Meaning that Adora had at least one confirmed stolen memory.

All of which brought Catra back to her present situation. Through the Horde’s impressive network of spies, she had put word out about Horde finding a First Ones temple. It was obviously a trap. So obvious that Catra was a little scared that Adora would see through the deception and elect to not come. She knew Adora though. Trap or no trap, it would be hard for her to not at least investigate the possibility of a First Ones temple falling into the Horde’s hands.

Catra let out a bitter chuckle. It was ironic to her that even after all this time, all this trying to push her away, once again Catra _needed_ Adora for something. An uncomfortable feeling washed over Catra. _Needing_ Adora. Catra had put in too much work to prove herself to everyone to be okay falling back into this place where she _needs_ Adora. Anger and resentment started washing over her again, along with something else. Faint feelings that she’d also worked very hard at burying deep into the recesses of her soul in the hopes that they’d be snuffed out completely. They always managed to claw their way back though, even if just briefly. Seeing Adora in her memory, a young Adora, maybe nine or ten, had not helped.

For a moment, Catra almost let her thoughts run wild. There were so many, so many conflicting emotions, conflicting desires. Catra could feel herself starting to get knotted up. Which is why when a loud “clunk” noise echoed through the chamber Catra was more than a little thankful to have something to refocus on. The noise had been the sound of the temple door sliding open violently. Before she came into sight Catra could hear her. Adora, and thankfully for once without her new friends, the pink haired girl and that bubbly boy who, if you asked Catra, was always way too cheery.

 

\---

 

Adora entered the temple. As soon as she was through the door it slammed closed with a “clunk”. She spun around to examine the door. It didn’t seem to be opening anytime soon. “That’s not ominous or anything,” she mumbled to herself. The straight hallway before her was mostly dark, lit only by random streaks of blue light that pulsed on the wall.

“Well Catra, you’re here somewhere. Time to find out why,” Adora said to the dark hallway. She was worried. A couple days ago the Best Friend Squad had been eating lunch on the lawn in one of the gorgeous courtyards in Bright Moon Castle. Bow and Glimmer were showing Adora what a “picnic” was. Adora didn’t mind. She loved spending time with her friends, although she really wasn’t able to figure out what the point of a picnic was. In the middle of it they were approached by a man who called himself Simonno. He had heard rumor that Horde soldiers, led by the Second-In-Command, had stumbled upon a temple to the north. The exchange was tense, but Simonno left willingly after delivering the message. Bow and Glimmer didn’t understand Adora’s tenseness, and she didn’t know how to tell them: she knew Simonno. His name wasn’t Simonno though, it was Arn. Adora knew him because Adora remembered him from History 101. They had hung out in a study group a few times. Arn was a Horde spy. Except for the name Arn wasn’t even trying to conceal his identity to Adora. It couldn’t be chance that he was the one to deliver the news.

Even for a linear path, it took Adora some time to make her way down the mostly dark hallway. Eventually she reached a doorway that spilled out into what seemed like an ocean of blackness. Carefully Adora continued on, and suddenly, everything was lit up. She stood in a large, open room. The walls were made out of what seemed like purple crystal pillars clumped together. The floor had a glassy blue sheen to it. A few tapered columns rose out of the ground. At the far end was a raised pedestal where the hologram Thread Spinner stood, appearing calm, with their fingers pressed together in front of them.

“Greetings,” Thread Spinner called out from across the hall.

“Oh, hello. Are you here by yourself?” Adora inquired.

“Hey Adora,” a voice called out from behind them, as if on cue. The way the cat girl drew out the “e” sound in “hey”, the way she let the second “a” in Adora’s name linger in her mouth, even after all these years, still made Adora momentarily forget to breathe, until she had to let out a low, mostly inaudible gasp. That it was still so effective annoyed Adora to no end.

Adora turned to face Catra, who was standing a few feet away, one hand perched on her hip, the other arm hanging lazily to her side. “Hey Catra,” Adora stated flatly. Adora’s posture was tense, defensive. Not aggressive, but ready should the situation start going bad.

“Believe it or not I’m not here to fight. In fact, and this brings me NO joy to say, Adora I need your help,” Catra huffed out the word “help”, like she had to be forced into saying it.

Silence fell back over the room for a moment. Adora tilted her head slightly, taking in her former friend. She was trying to read Catra, her body language. It used to be so easy, but now Adora feared that her reference points were outdated. Still, Catra had gone through all this trouble to, so far, just talk and not attack her.

“Help with what?” Adora finally said. She wasn’t sure when it happened, but at some point the defensive stance had morphed. She was now standing with her hands loosely clasped behind her back, casually kneading the arch of her left foot into the ground.

Catra took a moment to compose her sentence in her head. It was a struggle to find the right way to put this. Finally she settled on, “okay, first, I need to see, uumm, your back just to make sure I’m right.”

Adora looked at her slightly confused but simply shrugged and spun around. There was no sort of response. After a moment she looked over her should to see Catra with her head planted in the palm of her hand. “What?! You said-”

“-I need to see your back! Like, your back back,” Catra huffed, cutting Adora off.

“...Oh.” Suddenly, Adora’s jacket wasn’t the reddest part of her. “Um, why,” she stammered out.

Yep, there was no avoiding this. Catra sighed and turned around to face away from Adora. She began tugging at the back of her shirt, so that it bunched around the base of her neck, but leaving most of the rest of her body covered. “Because of these.”

For a moment there was no response. Catra was starting to feel very exposed, and stupid, when she felt something. A finger. Two fingers. Pressed against her skin. They gently began sliding their way along the path of the markings, stopping at each one, as if trying to commit each to memory. The contact caused Catra to start sucking air in through mostly clenched teeth. An involuntary action. “They aren’t birthmarks,” Catra airly said, as if answering a question that the fingers were asking.

The fingers drew away from her back. Catra was unsure how she felt about that. Something soft flopped onto the ground next to her. She looked down to see Adora’s jacket. Catra turned around. Adora was maybe two feet away, with her back to Catra, in the middle of untucking her shirt. At first Catra stopped herself from doing what she wanted, but something in her brain convinced her that you’ve gone this far, don’t stop now. Catra grabbed the back hem of Adora’s shirt, and slowly started sliding it up. Adora didn’t protest. Instead she just used her own arms to try to hold the front down as best she could.

Adora had her own set of markings. “Six,” Catra said after trailing her finger between them all. Catra let out an amused grunt, “looks like I win.”

“How many do you have? And what are they?” Adora prodded.

“I have seven. They’re remnants, markings left from a memory erasing spell,” Catra answered. They were both silent for a moment. “Shadow Weaver keeps finding ways huh,” she mumbled.

“It appears that way,” Adora said as she pulled her shirt back down and turned to face Catra. “What can we do about it?”

“That’s where I come in,” Thread Spinner suddenly said from where they were suddenly standing, just a couple feet away from both girls. Their voice was loud and confident. A sudden explosion that blew up the atmosphere of the room. Thread Spinner’s appearance had so startled them that both Adora and Catra shrieked and jumped back.

Thread Spinner paid no mind to their reaction. “Welcome to the Temple of Sifting Memories. I am Thread Spinner. I, and this temple, were built specifically by the First Ones to provide mental clarity and guidance for those whose minds have become clouded. This includes, for your needs specifically, retrieving memories that have been lost.”

Adora smiled and pointed at Thread Spinner. “Wow, you’re so much friendlier than Light Hope. Maybe you could teach her a thing or two.”

The AI looked at Adora inquisitively. “Light. Hope? No, that name has no meaning to me,” they said. Before Adora could respond, Thread Spinner continued, “now, if you are ready-” Thread Spinner disappeared, then reappeared atop the pedestal across the room, “-we can begin,” they finished, voice booming so the entire room could hear.

Adora turned back to Catra and gave her an inquisitive look. Catra sighed again. “So, Thread Spinner’s shown me three of my memories, and one of them cuts off when you enter the room. Thread Spinner says that memories that are shared between people that are taken away from everyone can only be fully reconstructed if everyone involved is present.”

“So basically, if a memory is shared together, and stolen together-” Adora began.

“It can only be recovered together,” Catra finished. “Don’t you want to know what Shadow Weaver took from us?”

Adora held out her hand to Catra and nodded. Catra simply began to walk past her towards the pedestal. Adora started to sigh until she felt Catra’s tail brush her hand and loosely wrap itself around her wrist. Adora looked up. Catra was looking over her shoulder and nodding towards the pedestal. “Let’s go,” she said. They casually crossed the room, the entire time Adora being led by Catra’s tail. When they got to the stairway Catra released her grip and continued up the stairs. Adora stood at the base. Catra was standing at the top of the pedestal next to Thread Spinner. “It’s pretty simple. Thread Spinner here scans your mind and then,” Catra spun around and spread her arms in front of her, gesturing to the dark, sizeable platform in front of the raised pedestal area. “The memory is shown to us here. We don’t have to ‘experience’ them this time, thank goodness, we’re just watching them. Kind of like those, oh,” Catra began snapping her fingers errantly, “what are they called? Rebellion kingdoms do them,” Catra continued snapping her fingers as if trying to snap a memory into existence.

“Oh, right!” Adora responded. She began rubbing her chin thoughtfully. “What were they. Hmm. Parties? No, no those were something else. Platitudes?”

“Are you talking about Plays?” Thread Spinner interjected.

“That! Yeah, that’s it,” Adora exclaimed.

Catra turned to the empty platform. “I guess we should start with my memory first, since it is at least partially relevant to you,” Catra said. She looked back over her shoulder to Adora with a grimace. “Look, just try not to make a big deal out of this after you see it. Please?”

Adora raised an eyebrow. “No guarantees,” she said smoothly.

Catra huffed and turned back to empty space and nodded at Thread Spinner. The AI began glowing. The empty space on the platform began filling with light. At first it was blinding and all encompassing, but soon shapes started to take form. A scene emerged, and began playing out in front of them.

 

_\---_

 

_Shadow Weaver was toiling over control panels in the Black Garnet chamber when a young Catra, about ten years old, burst into the room. The young cat girl was holding a book large enough that she had to cradle it with both hands. The book looked old, worn, with an ornate design etched into the cover._

_“Shadow Weaver! Shadow Weaver!” Catra called out. Her voice was full of enthusiasm, even as she labored to carry the book that was almost half her size._

_The cat girl’s enthusiasm was lost on Shadow Weaver, who didn’t bother looking up from her control panels at first. “I thought I told you that I was not to be disturbed today Catra. How many times do I have to discipline you before start following my or-” Shadow Weaver stopped in the middle of her thought as she looked up to see the book that Catra was holding. Shadow Weaver flexed her hands in and out of a claw shape as her eyes narrowed. “WHERE did you get that book?!”_

_Catra gulped. “I didn’t steal it! Well, I mean, I didn’t steal it from the library! There were these fifth year cadets who had it and were making fun of me! So I stole it from them!”_

_The Black Garnet chamber began going dark around Catra. Shadow Weaver was still in front of Catra, but her voice was everywhere. “I will only ask you this once Catra, tell me the names of these cadets and I will deal with them MYSELF, and you will hand me that book right this second or-”_

_Just as quickly as Shadow Weaver started to bend in to encompass Catra’s entire field of vision Shadow Weaver retracted herself and the room returned to normal around Catra. Barely a second later a ten year old Adora appeared in the doorway, huffing and struggling to catch her breath._

_“Sorry Catra, I tried to keep up, but you lost me like two hallways ago,” Adora said, between breaths. She looked up to see Shadow Weaver, standing, hands pressed together and looking patient. “Is it true Shadow Weaver?!” Adora beamed, finally mustering some sense of energy back into her body._

_Shadow Weaver glided over to Adora and gently brushed a finger along her cheek. “Is what true my child?”_

_Catra held up the book. “Am I, a princess?”_

_“What did you say?” Shadow Weaver turned back to Catra._

_“It says in this book that I’m a princess!” Catra exclaimed. “Does that mean I have super powers?! Do I have a kingdom?!”_

_“You probably have a huuuuuge kingdom!” Adora interjected. She was holding her arms over her head, trying to measure out the hugeness._

 

\---

 

The scene stopped abruptly. Catra was still staring at the still images when she became aware that Adora had joined her on the pedestal. She could feel her eyes burrowing into her. Catra slowly turned to see Adora, just a few feet away from her, staring at her with the evilest grin Catra ever saw on her face. Adora’s excitement was palpable.

“You’re. A. PRINCESS?!” Adora exclaimed.

Catra was rubbing the bridge of her nose in frustration. “See, I knew you were gonna make a big deal out of this.”

“I mean, YES. HELLO? Miss “I Hate Princesses” IS a princess?!”

“We don’t know that I’m a princess! It stops there. It doesn’t end, it just stops.” Catra pressed her index finger against Adora’s forehead. “Meaning the rest of it’s somewhere in there.”

“Right,” Adora said with a nod. “What do I have to do?”

“For shared memories to be completed, the parties involved have to be joined,” Thread Spinner interjected.

Both girls glared at them. “Excuse me?!” Catra exclaimed.

“In my experience holding hands is the most common way to join,” they added.

Catra let out a sigh of relief. She held her hand out at Adora, who stared at it thoughtfully for a moment before grabbing it with her own. “Alright Thread Spinner, show us what was taken from us.”

The scene before them came back into focus.

 

\---

 

_“Nobody has a kingdom!” Shadow Weaver huffed. She snatched the book out of Catra’s hands._

_“Am I a princess though?!”_

_Shadow Weaver glared at her for a moment. “You’re a princess that no longer has a people. Now,” she grabbed both girls by the arm and drug them to the door. “Get OUT. We will deal with this LATER,” she hissed. The door slammed shut immediately after._

_Adora was a ball of energy. “Oh my Hordak you’re a princess!” she squealed._

_“I wonder when my superpowers are going to show up!” Catra cheerily mused._

_“They’re gonna be the coolest!”_

_Catra held her head high as she placed each hand against her waist. “I don’t care what Shadow Weaver says, if I’m a princess I’ll make my own kingdom! It’s gonna have everything! My own personal guards!”_

_“A moat!”_

_“My own throne room!”_

_“A royal court!”_

_“Ooh, a giant ballroom where we’ll hold balls every night!” Catra exclaimed. After a second her mood dropped though. “Oh,” Catra said with a sense of deflation._

_“Catra? What’s wrong?”_

_Catra was hanging her head. “Maybe I won’t host balls. A princess can’t host a ball without a prince. Pretty sure that’s a rule.”_

_There was a couple seconds of silence before Adora’s hand appeared in Catra’s view. She looked up to see Adora’s arm outstretched. “I’ll be your prince,” she beamed._

_“Really?”_

_“Of course!” Adora said. They both giggled as they took each other’s hand and began spinning around, poorly dancing to a song that only they could hear. They spun and twirled and laughed for while before Adora accidently misjudged their spacing and sent them both slamming into the wall. Neither seemed especially upset. Instead they kept laughing as they both leaned against the wall, facing each other. Adora stopped laughing first and watched as her friend continued giggling._

_After a moment Adora had a sudden urge she couldn’t explain. She leaned in and pecked Catra on the cheek with a brief kiss. Catra stopped laughing and raised her hand to rub the area Adora had kissed._

_“Gross,” Catra whispered._

_Adora looked down. She could feel a burning sensation inside her cheeks. “Oh! Oh no, I’m so sorry!”_

_“No, hey,” Catra began, then she kissed Adora on her cheek, “I like gross,” Catra said with a soft smile._

 

_\---_

 

The scene began fading back into nothingness. Both Adora and Catra stood there, unmoving, in silence. Slowly Catra was tightening her grip around Adora’s hand.

Finally Adora spoke. It was barely audible, she was speaking mostly to herself. “Our… Our first kiss. I… I don’t remember…”

“Of course we don’t,” Catra responded. Her voice was calm, but shaky. “That’s the whole point.”

While they were talking the light in front of them was reconstructing itself into a new scene.

“Wait, what’s happening now?” Adora asked.

 

\---

 

_A 15 year old Catra was sitting on the dark grey railing that lined the roof of their barracks. Her feet were dangling free, facing outward away from the building. The sky was a swirl of deep oranges and reds, and Catra was trying to get lost in them. That was easier than dealing with the pain in her left arm. Something was broken, it had to be. She wasn’t sure how long she had been sitting up here, losing herself in the inky patterns of the sky when she heard the door swish open._

_“There you are!” a 15 year old Adora called out. She strolled over to where Catra was sitting and leaned against the railing. “I’ve been looking all over for you. I  thought we were going to get dinner together,” she started. Adora lost her train of thought as she noticed how Catra was holding her arm. “Catra?” she asked, slowly bringing her hand to Catra’s arm. Catra winced and pulled her arm in closer. Adora pulled her own arm back, giving her friend room. “Catra, what happened?”_

_“I’m fine,” Catra scoffed._

_Adora put her hand on Catra’s shoulder. There was no wincing, so Adora left it there. “You’re not fine, you’re in pain.”_

_Catra looked down at her arm, as if regarding it for the first time. “I’m usually pretty good at hiding it. It’s just really bad today, I was trying to avoid you until it healed a little,” she said. Her voice was low, deflated._

_“What? Has this happened before? Did someone do this to you?” The anxiety in Adora’s voice was noticeably rising. Catra didn’t respond. She barely even acknowledged that she heard Adora. Determined, Adora began rubbing Catra’s shoulder. “Hey, please talk to me?” Adora asked. Her voice was soft, and warming._

_With a smooth spin, Catra hopped down from the railing and leaned on it, just next to Adora. “Can we please talk about something else?”_

_Adora moved to stand in front of Catra. She grabbed each of the cat girl’s shoulders and gently rubbed them. Catra seemed to shrink in Adora’s grasp. Adora stared intently at her friend. After a moment of silence between the two, Adora gave a heavy sigh. “Did, did Shadow Weaver do this to you? Has, has she done this before?”_

_Catra looked up at Adora. Her eyes were puffy, as if just holding back tears. “Adora can we please just talk about something else? Anything else!”_

_“Why?! We can’t let this keep happening Catra! We’ll talk to Shadow Weaver! Let me talk to Shadow Weaver. I’ll talk to Lord Hordak if I have to!”_

_“No! Adora! This is why I DIDN’T want to tell you about it. I knew you couldn’t just let it go. Talking’s NOT going to help anything! If anything it’ll only make it worse!”_

_“Then why stay here? You don’t care about the Horde, and you’ve always wanted to get out and see the world. You shouldn’t put up with this Catra.”_

_Catra pressed herself harder against the railing, as if trying to shrink away from Adora. “Why do I stay?” Tears were beginning to stream down Catra’s face. “Why do I stay? I stay because I don’t want to leave you!” Catra exclaimed with as much force as she could muster._

_It was apparently a decent amount of force, because it caused Adora to take a step back. Catra peered into her friends eyes. She could tell that Adora was thinking, debating herself. It seemed Adora had come to an agreement in her head. She leaned in and began gently scratching the back of Catra’s ear in just the right place. The place only Adora knew. A few involuntary purrs rattled out of Catra. Adora simply smiled. “Then let’s leave.”_

_“But, your training? Being a Force Captain is the most important thing in your life!”_

_“Catra, you’re the most important thing in my life,” Adora replied._

_Adora’s words smacked into Catra. She stared at her friend, peering into her bright blue eyes. There was a softness, an earnestness, a sea of invitation in those eyes. Catra couldn’t say no anymore. With her right hand she grabbed the back of Adora’s head and pulled her into a searing kiss. Adora rested her arms on Catra’s shoulders and began tangling her fingers into Catra’s hair._

_Eventually their mouths separated, more out of need for air than want. “Let’s get out of here,” Adora said airily as she scratched at Catra’s scalp. “Tonight. Right now.”_

_“Where would we go?”_

_“I’m not sure. I don’t really care though. We can go anywhere,” Adora contemplated for a moment. “Let’s go everywhere. Let’s see the world. I want to. I want to see everything Etheria has to offer, with you.”_

_Catra leaned in to kiss Adora again. “Then let’s go,” Catra whispered through their kiss._

_Adora took Catra by her hand and led her to the door. It slid open to reveal Shadow Weaver standing in the doorway. The girls both jumped back._

_“Shadow Weaver?! What are you doing here?” Adora asked, attempting to sound as nonchalant as possible. Shadow Weaver didn’t answer, she simply began gliding out of the door onto the roof._

 

_\---_

 

The scene faded away. Before Either Catra or Adora could even react, another scene began forming.

 

\---

 

_Thirteen year old Adora and Catra were running down the hallway of their barracks. Adora was leading them, dragging Catra along, their hands firmly clasped together.They were giggling, and running as fast as they could. They turned a corner, and then a couple more until they reached a door. The girls quickly slipped inside and closed the door behind them. Adora hit the light switch. They were in a cleaning supply closet. They both bent over in exhaustion and continued laughing._

_“Did… Did you see the look on Annera’s face?!” Catra huffed._

_“She sure… sure was mad!” Adora responded. “Who was that person she was with?”_

_“I think they were one of those advanced level cadets. What on Etheria an advanced level cadet was doing hanging with Annera is anyone’s guess.”_

_Adora pulled herself into an upright position and tapped her lip repeatedly. “I think they were wrestling? Which is weird, right? Wrestling in your barracks? We have so many great training rooms.”_

_Catra let out a hearty laugh. “Pretty sure they weren’t wrestling, Adora.” Catra walked up to her friend, who was leaning against the wall. “They were, you know, I think they were kissing.”_

_As if on cue Adora’s face turned beat red. “Oh!” She gasped._

_Catra laughed at the obvious discomfort of her friend. “Oh wow, you’re so red! You never even think about that kind of stuff do you?” Catra teased._

_“I have too!” Adora blurted out. If it was possible, her face had turned redder. She tried to compose herself. “Have, have you?” She asked. Her voice had fallen to a low squeak. Part of her hoped Catra hadn’t even heard it. Part of her needed to know Catra’s answer more than anything else in this world._

_“Of course I have,” the cat girl responded. Her tone had become more thoughtful. Not a laughing matter to her apparently. “When you, thought about it, were you imagining anyone in particular?”_

_Adora didn’t say anything. She simply nodded. “What about you?” she asked after what had felt like a painfully long stretch of silence._

_“Yeah,” Catra simply stated._

_“Were you ever tempted to actually try it? Like, with that person I mean?”_

_Catra pushed herself off the wall they were leaning on and moved directly in front of Adora. She was gazing at Adora, her mismatched eyes fixated on the blonde. “What if the person doesn’t want me to?”_

_Adora met Catra’s and smiled softly. “I think they would.”_

_“Are you sure?”_

_“Very sur-” Catra cut off the end of Adora’s sentence with a kiss. Both of their lips were closed. It was as if they were both trying to push their faces through each other. Adora grabbed Catra’s shoulders and pulled her closer. It was an inelegant kiss, but it wasn’t sloppy, not like what they saw Annera and the cadet were doing. And yet to Adora it felt like every nerve in her body was exploding with energy._

_A sudden and sharp sense of dread fell over them as they heard the sound of the door sliding open. Catra pulled away from Adora with lightning speed and they both turned towards the doorway. Standing in it was Shadow Weaver, with Annera just behind her. “WHAT do you two think you are DOING?” she demanded._

 

_\---_

 

That scene fell away and another immediately began forming. Adora could feel Catra’s hand, gripping hers tighter and tighter, her nails were digging into Adora’s skin.

 

\---

 

_Adora was sitting propped up in her bunk, leaning against her pillows, which were pushed against the back of the bunk wall. She was early 17, less than a year before she would end up finding the sword of She-Ra and leaving the Horde. She was still in her pajamas. Blankets were pulled up to her waist, and on top of them was Catra, also in her pajamas and still fast asleep. Catra was nestled between Adora’s spread legs, using her right thigh as a pillow. Adora was busy reading a book. Every minute or two she’d use her free hand to turn a page, then let it fall softly into Catra’s mass of hair that she’d lazily stroke._

_After a while Adora’s attention was pulled from the book by the sound of a yawn and a gentle pushing into her stomach. She looked down to see Catra yawning and stretching her arm over her head, pushing her hand into Adora’s stomach._

_“Good morning sleepyhead. You made it awake before noon. I was beginning to have doubts,” Adora teased. She pressed her hand farther into Catra’s hair and began gently scratching her scalp._

_A sleepy moan rose out of the cat girl as she slowly rolled over to rest the back of her head on Adora’s left thigh. Her eyelids were still half shut as Catra stared up at her human pillow. An amused smile grew on her face. “Are you really reading, a textbook no less, on our one day of the week off?”_

_“It was the only book within arm’s reach, the rest are up on the shelf.”_

_“Well why didn’t you get up then?”_

_“I. Didn’t want to,” Adora said. Her smile was soft, happy._

_Catra pressed her head harder into Adora’s thigh and closed her eyes again. “Dork.” Adora’s response was to tickle the top of Catra’s ear, causing it to flick wildly. “Hey you!” Catra exclaimed and responded by tickling at Adora’s stomach. A full on tickle fight broke out. After a few minutes exhaustion from laughing washed over them and they fell back into their original positions._

_“What did you wanna do today?” Catra asked._

_“I don’t know. Was kind of thinking it might be nice to just lay around reading all day.”_

_Catra groaned. “That sounds boring!”_

_“Training was grueling this week. I think my back could use ‘boring’ for a day.”_

_“Ugh, fiiiiinnne,” Catra moaned and got up._

_Adora stared at the spot that Catra just previously occupied for a moment and gave a little smile. She straightened the blanket over her legs and picked her book back up. After a moment Catra reappeared, flopping back into her spot between Adora’s legs. She was holding a few books in her hands as well as a small device, one of the Horde’s best new inventions, called a PlayKid._

_“If we must sit around reading, you are NOT reading textbooks,” Catra said, handing most of the books she brought to Adora._

_“I thought you said it was boring?” Adora teased with a smirk._

_“That’s why I brought the game, duh.” Catra nestled her head back into Adora’s thigh and turned on the PlayKid._

_Adora looked at the selection of titles in her hands. All Adora’s favorites. She picked one and set the rest down next to their bunk. Adora began scratching the base of Catra’s ear, teasing out a few purrs and leaned over, her head hovering just above Catra’s._

_For a moment Adora simply stared at her friend and smiled. “Hey,” Adora finally said, sounding like something between a warm greeting and a question._

_Catra propped herself up on her left elbow. With her right hand Catra began massaging the back of Adora’s neck. “I don’t REALLY care what we’re doing, as long as we doing it together.”_

_“Same here,” Adora responded. She lowered her head closer to Catra. “Hey, Catra?” Adora meekishly asked._

_Catra pushed herself up farther on her elbow. “Yeah, Adora?”_

_Adora didn’t say anything else. Instead she lowered herself into a kiss._

 

_\---_

 

The scene froze before anything else happened. Adora realized it was because Catra had tugged her hand away, breaking the bond. Catra had her back to Adora, both of her hands were balled tightly into fists. Adora turned her attention back to the platform in front of her. Her heart felt twisted and crushed. Stray tears rolled down her cheeks.

“She… Took them all. All of our first kisses,” Adora breathed. Her voice was strained, in pain.

“Not all of them,” Catra said. Her voice was low, full of defiance.

“I can’t remember _any_ of them,” Adora exclaimed.

Without giving her any more time to think or react, Catra grabbed Adora’s arm and spun her so that they were facing each other. Catra sprung forward, slamming her lips into Adora’s. She placed her hands on each side of Adora’s face, using her thumbs to gently caress her cheeks. Catra teasingly bit Adora’s lower lip and pulled. She slipped her tongue past Adora’s lips and licked her teeth. Adora let her in, and their tongues began dancing together in each other’s mouths. Adora put her hands on Catra’s hips and pulled her closer. She could feel Catra’s tail loosely wrapping itself around Adora’s leg. Adora couldn’t focus. In that moment she wasn’t even sure if the world existed beyond her and Catra. She felt enveloped in the warmth coming off the cat girl pressed against her. Loud purrs reverberated through both of them.

They pulled their mouths apart after what felt like an all too brief eternity. They stood there, mouths just inches apart, foreheads pressed together. Catra was still gripping Adora’s face and caressing her cheeks. Adora’s hands had wandered their way up to Catra’s ears, scratching them in that special spot only Adora knew how to find.

“She can’t have this one,” Catra breathed.

Adora moved in, and inquisitively flicked at Catra’s lips with her tongue. Catra greeted her with her own tongue, and guided them back into another kiss.

It was their fifth first kiss. Adora still didn’t know what their future had in store. There were plenty of messy details and obstacles that Future Catra and Future Adora had to deal with. What she did know though was that she was pretty confident this first kiss would stick. And that it wouldn’t be their last.

**Author's Note:**

> This became so much bigger than I ever anticipated! I originally thought of this just as an excuse to write a bunch of different ways Adora's and Catra's first kiss could happen. And then! For real, I was originally thinking this would be, like a 1,000 words, tops.
> 
> This is like, the first real thing I've written in over three years! Sorry if it's a little rough in places. I'm hoping 2019 is the year I get really serious about getting back into writing.


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